If you’re letting your kid be a kid these days, you might want to get nervous. That’s because so many parents are going crazy spending extra money to get their kids to stand out of the academic pack – that your child might just be left behind. And even worse, he might just end up being only “average.”
Author Sending Parents to Spend
On the backs of the popular book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua, British parents are spending more than a billion trying to keep their kids ahead of yours. According to a survey by the insurers Aviva, 25% of parents are spending hundreds of pounds on private tutoring.
The study showed that the typical family is spending £463 to boost musical, athletic and academic achievements of their kids each year. And that adds up to over one and a half billion pounds at year’s end.
The Finances of Perfection
Parents are driving themselves emotionally and financially crazy in the race to create the perfect kids. The survey, which looked at 200 parents of children under 18, found that 63% find themselves in competition with other parents. The competition includes everything from breastfeeding to sports to physical appearance and is driving everyone involved crazy.
As the author of The Manic Mum’s Guide to Magnificent Parenting, Allison Mitchell, warned, “While it’s great to encourage our children to be the best they can be, it’s important not to put too much pressure on them.”
Tell that to the Tiger Moms and see what they have to say. But first you’ll have to catch them in between carpool runs and trips to the bank.
